1. We ask you to turn your minds once more to the liturgical innovation of the new rite
of the Mass. This new rite will be introduced into our celebration of the holy Sacrifice
starting from Sunday next which is the first of Advent, November 30 [in Italy].

2. A new rite of the Mass: a change in a venerable tradition that has gone on for
centuries. This is something that affects our hereditary religious patrimony, which seemed
to enjoy the privilege of being untouchable and settled. It seemed to bring the prayer of
our forefathers and our saints to our lips and to give us the comfort of feeling faithful
to our spiritual past, which we kept alive to pass it on to the generations ahead.

3. It is at such a moment as this that we get a better understanding of the value of
historical tradition and the communion of the saints. This change will affect the
ceremonies of the Mass. We shall become aware, perhaps with some feeling of annoyance,
that the ceremonies at the altar are no longer being carried out with the same words and
gestures to which we were accustomedperhaps so much accustomed that we no longer
took any notice of them. This change also touches the faithful. It is intended to interest
each one of those present, to draw them out of their customary personal devotions or their
usual torpor.

4. We must prepare for this many-sided inconvenience. It is the kind of upset caused by
every novelty that breaks in on our habits. We shall notice that pious persons are
disturbed most, because they have their own respectable way of hearing Mass, and they will
feel shaken out of their usual thoughts and obliged to follow those of others. Even
priests may feel some annoyance in this respect.

5. So what is to be done on this special and historical occasion? First of all, we must
prepare ourselves. This novelty is no small thing. We should not let ourselves be
surprised by the nature, or even the nuisance, of its exterior forms. As intelligent
persons and conscientious faithful we should find out as much as we can about this
innovation. It will not be hard to do so, because of the many fine efforts being made by
the Church and by publishers. As We said on another occasion, we shall do well to take
into account the motives for this grave change. The first is obedience to the Council.
That obedience now implies obedience to the Bishops, who interpret the Council's
prescription and put them into practice.

6. This first reason is not simply canonicalrelating to an external precept. It
is connected with the charism of the liturgical act. In other words, it is linked with the
power and efficacy of the Church's prayer, the most authoritative utterance of which comes
from the Bishop. This is also true of priests, who help the Bishop in his ministry, and
like him act in persona Christi (cf. St. Ign., ad Eph. I, V). It is Christ's will, it is
the breath of the Holy Spirit which calls the Church to make this change. A prophetic
moment is occurring in the mystical body of Christ, which is the Church. This moment is
shaking the Church, arousing it, obliging it to renew the mysterious art of its prayer.

7. The other reason for the reform is this renewal of prayer. It is aimed at
associating the assembly of the faithful more closely and more effectively with the
official rite, that of the Word and that of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, that constitutes
the Mass. For the faithful are also invested with the "royal priesthood"; that
is, they are qualified to have supernatural conversation with God.

8. It is here that the greatest newness is going to be noticed, the newness of
language. No longer Latin, but the spoken language will be the principal language of the
Mass. The introduction of the vernacular will certainly be a great sacrifice for those who
know the beauty, the power and the expressive sacrality of Latin. We are parting with the
speech of the Christian centuries; we are becoming like profane intruders in the literary
preserve of sacred utterance. We will lose a great part of that stupendous and
incomparable artistic and spiritual thing, the Gregorian chant.

9. We have reason indeed for regret, reason almost for bewilderment. What can we put in
the place of that language of the angels? We are giving up something of priceless worth.
But why? What is more precious than these loftiest of our Church's values?

10. The answer will seem banal, prosaic. Yet it is a good answer, because it is human,
because it is apostolic.

11. Understanding of prayer is worth more than the silken garments in which it is
royally dressed. Participation by the people is worth moreparticularly participation
by modern people, so fond of plain language which is easily understood and converted into
everyday speech.

12. If the divine Latin language kept us apart from the children, from youth, from the
world of labor and of affairs, if it were a dark screen, not a clear window, would it be
right for us fishers of souls to maintain it as the exclusive language of prayer and
religious intercourse? What did St. Paul have to say about that? Read chapter 14 of the
first letter to the Corinthians: "In Church I would rather speak five words with my
mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue" (I
Corinthians 14:19).

13. St. Augustine seems to be commenting on this when he says, "Have no fear of
teachers, so long as all are instructed" (P.L. 38, 228, Serm. 37; cf. also Serm. 229,
p. 1371). But, in any case, the new rite of the Mass provides that the faithful
"should be able to sing together, in Latin, at least the parts of the Ordinary of the
Mass, especially the Creed and the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father" (Sacrosanctum
Concilium n. 19).

14. But, let us bear this well in mind, for our counsel and our comfort: the Latin
language will not thereby disappear. It will continue to be the noble language of the Holy
See's official acts; it will remain as the means of teaching in ecclesiastical studies and
as the key to the patrimony of our religious, historical and human culture. If possible,
it will reflourish in splendor.

15. Finally, if we look at the matter properly we shall see that the fundamental
outline of the Mass is still the traditional one, not only theologically but also
spiritually. Indeed, if the rite is carried out as it ought to be, the spiritual aspect
will be found to have greater richness. The greater simplicity of the ceremonies, the
variety and abundance of scriptural texts, the joint acts of the ministers, the silences
which will mark various deeper moments in the rite, will all help to bring this out.

16. But two indispensable requirements above all will make that richness clear: a
profound participation by every single one present, and an outpouring of spirit in
community charity. These requirements will help to make the Mass more than ever a school
of spiritual depth and a peaceful but demanding school of Christian sociology. The soul's
relationship with Christ and with the brethren thus attains new and vital intensity.
Christ, the victim and the priest, renews and offers up his redeeming sacrifice through
the ministry of the Church in the symbolic rite of his last supper. He leaves us his body
and blood under the appearances of bread and wine, for our personal and spiritual
nourishment, for our fusion in the unity of his redeeming love and his immortal life.

17. But there is still a practical difficulty, which the excellence of the sacred
renders not a little important. How can we celebrate this new rite when we have not yet
got a complete missal, and there are still so many uncertainties about what to do?

18. To conclude, it will be helpful to read to you some directions from the competent
office, namely the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship. Here they are: "As regards
the obligation of the rite:

1) For the Latin text: Priests who celebrate in Latin, in private or also in public, in
cases provided for by the legislation, may use either the Roman Missal or the new rite
until November 28, 1971. If they use the Roman Missal, they may nevertheless make use of
the three new anaphoras and the Roman Canon, having regard to the provisions respecting
the last text (omission of some saints, conclusions, etc.). They may moreover recite the
readings and the prayer of the faithful in the vernacular. If they use the new rite, they
must follow the official text, with the concessions as regards the vernacular indicated
above.

2) For the vernacular text. In Italy, all those who celebrate in the presence of the
people from November 30 next, must use the Rito delta Messa published by the Italian
Episcopal Conference or by another National Conference. On feast days readings shall be
taken: either from the Lectionary published by the Italian Center for Liturgical Action,
or from the Roman Missal for feast days, as in use heretofore. On ferial days the ferial
Lectionary published three years ago shall continue to be used. No problem arises for
those who celebrate in private, because they must celebrate in Latin. If a priest
celebrates in the vernacular by special indult, as regards the texts, he shall follow what
was said above for the Mass with the people; but for the rite he shall follow the Ordo
published by the Italian Episcopal Conference.

19. In every case, and at all times, let us remember that "the Mass is a Mystery
to be lived in a death of Love. Its divine reality surpasses all words. . . It is the
Action par excellence, the very act of our Redemption, in the Memorial which makes it
present" (Zundel).

With Our Apostolic Benediction.

Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
4 December 1969

L'Osservatore Romano is the newspaper of the Holy See.
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